When you wake up every day, you have two choices. You can either be positive or negative; an optimist or a pessimist. I choose to be an optimist. It’s all a matter of perspective. Harvey Mackay

A great teacher I studied with used to say,”The world is as you see it.” We come into the world with our DNA and other hereditary markers that contribute to who we are and who we might become. My markers align me with the capacity to do certain things and even to accomplish certain goals if I put my mind and action behind it. I can commit to follow my passion and achieve my definition of success in the field of my choice. One thing I can’t do is follow YOUR passion with the same zeal and success level. For this week’s Motivation Mondays post on PERSPECTIVE, I’ve included some inspirational stories, some are humorous, to elucidate the power of PERSPECTIVE. Contemplate the stories. Meditate on them. “Meditation is the soul’s perspective glass.” Owen Feltham. If you have any inspiring stories that speak to you, do share, I’d love to read them.

A STORY: What The Blind Men Saw
Four blind men were taken on an outing to a game reserve. Upon arrival, they began to quibble about the logic of taking them out of their comfort zone. One of the tour guards, a very wise man named Babu, had an idea. “Follow me, I will introduce you to Jambi, our friendly and smart elephant.” The men calmed down and, with the aid of the guards, followed him. Once they entered Jambi’s quarters, Babu instructed the blind men to come closer and meet Jambi. They did. He then instructed them to explore and discover what the elephant would look like if they could see.

The first blind man felt the elephant’s leg and shared that it must look like a pillar. The second blind man touched the elephant’s stomach tummy and said the elephant must be a huge wall. The third blind man caressed the elephant’s ear and proclaimed it was a piece of burlap cloth. The fourth blind man was bursting at the seams laughing hysterically at the presumed ignorance of his fellow blind men. He was eager to share his discovery and soon started shouting. “Are you stupid? How could say the thing before us is a pillar, a wall or even cloth?” He held onto the elephant’s tail and, with great flourish, described the elephant as a piece of rope. Soon a new argument ensued. Babu interrupted them, and in a calm voice said: “Each of you touched the elephant, and each of you gave a different description of the animal. Which answer is right?” The four men fell silent.

“Perspective is everything when you are experiencing the challenges of life.” Joni Eareckson Tada

It’s not only moving that creates new starting points. Sometimes all it takes is a subtle shift in perspective, an opening of the mind, an intentional pause and reset, or a new route to start to see new options and new possibilities. Kristin Armstrong

Wherever you go, there you are. The world we inhabit is shaped by our perspective, and we can choose to do more or less with what we have. We take all of who we are with us. We can choose to squash that singing, writing, dancing, cooking, mothering gift we have for some other highfalutin goal; that is a choice we make. But let me warn you that while there are things we can learn anew and goals we can accomplish with great effort, it is a FALLACY to believe that we can be ANYTHING we want. Yes, I repeat, it’s a fallacy. We can accomplish plenty based on our inherent talents, skills and our effort, but not anything/everything. Can YOU become an astronaut? If you have a propensity for science and always dreamt of being an astronaut, go for it. I, on the other hand, have no desire to go to the moon or to become an astronaut. From my perspective, I can dream the universe from the comfort of my meditation mat. I’m happy with that perspective and happy for you with yours. We must learn to respect our own perspective; they help motivate us because, wherever we go, we take our views with us.

A STORY: Wherever You Go, There Goes Your Baggage
Two newly hired, young men, met on a train ride to a new town. They chatted for a while and soon discovered they were relocating to the same place. They both wondered if they would be happy in the new town. Each of them had left friends and family behind and were eager to start afresh. When they arrived, they were escorted to the Town Hall to gather information and submit their paperwork.

The Town Hall supervisor, a revered zen master, welcomed both men and gave them all the information they needed. As they were ready to leave, one of the young men asked a question: Do you think I will like it in this town? Are the people nice? The master replied: How were the people in the town you came from?
“They were nasty and greedy, they were angry and lived for cheating and stealing,” said the young man.
The master replied: “Those are exactly the type of people we have in this town!”
The second young man was astonished and proceeded to ask the same question: Are you sure about the people in this town? Are the people not nice? Again, the master replied: How were the people in the town you came from?
“They were sweet and lived in harmony, they cared for one another and for the land, they respected each other and they were seekers of spirit,” the second young man replied.
Without missing a beat, the master replied: “Those are exactly the type of people we have in this town!”

“You must look within for value, but must look beyond for perspective.” Denis Waitley

I’m just thankful for everything, all the blessings in my life, trying to stay that way. I think that’s the best way to start your day and finish your day. It keeps everything in perspective. Tim Tebow

What does respecting our/my perspective mean? It means that my perspective (yours too) has tremendous value because it is what motivates me to act. My beliefs, experiences, interests, skills and desires, inform my decisions. I know what I’m capable of, what gets my attention and juices flowing, and I can test my limits all I want. But one thing I know is that I have zero interest in becoming an astronaut or ….. X (whatever else that might include). And the same goes for each of us. We can fantasize all we want. Take all the classes we wish. Ask all the questions we could possibly think of, and then, we must sit in a quiet space and empty our heads of all that stuff. To become fully who we truly are, we must empty our cups of everything; including our beliefs around our strengths and our weaknesses. So when we plan our goals, we must first ask: What Motivates ME? What AM I passionate about? What MUST I do to get ME there? Then we must be silent before we act on it.

A STORY: First Empty Your Cup
During the Meiji era (1868-1912), a Japanese master, Nan-in, welcomed a local university professor into his home. The professor was curious to learn more about the path of Zen.
Nan-in offered him a comfy seat and proceeded to prepare tea for the guest. They chatted for a while and Nan-in patiently answered endless questions. When the tea was ready, he served the professor a cup. He poured tea into the cup until it was full, and then kept on pouring more and more tea. As the teacup overflowed, the professor was stunned. He watched Nan-in until he could no longer restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more tea can go in!”
Nan-in smiled and then said: “Like this cup, you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen when you refuse to empty your cup?”

Sometimes we may ask()for success, and receive physical and mental stamina. We might plead for prosperity, and we receive enlarged perspective and increased patience, or we petition for growth and are blessed with the gift of grace. We may develop conviction and confidence as we strive to achieve worthy goals. David A. Bednar

Another great teacher I studied with always said; “Treat praise and blame the same.” When we allow our perspective to be swayed by the winds of every change, we don’t allow ourselves time to think about our own perspective and how that impacts our lives. Always being a YES Man/Woman is not a healthy approach to life because it forces us to negate our truth. We can say YES to life, but not yes to every point of view on the planet. What do you stand for? Is it fair? Is it helpful? Is it elevating to humanity? If your answer is YES to all three then go for it. If not, pause, reflect and consider the Perhaps approach…

I love quotes, human psychology and the philosophy of life; I write about those topics because they give me joy and stoke my passion for learning. I love books, fashion, food, health and wellness, music, gadgets and lots of other things and write about them on this blog sometimes. But I always come back to what fuels my fire. Don’t be a second-rate X. Follow YOUR dream and passion; that is where your power and success lie. And then, when things are tough, you’ll remember to use the Perhaps Perspective story below. Now, go read it and stay motivated for the things that truly matter to you.

A STORY: The Perhaps Perspective
In the old days, when donkeys and horses were the only means of transportation, an old, hardworking farmer lost his only horse. The horse saw an open gate and ran away. When his neighbors in the small village heard the news, they paid a visit: “Such bad luck,” they all said, with heavy, sad faces.
The farmer looked at them and said: “Perhaps.”
A few days later, the horse came back with a group of other wild horses; their presence immediately increased the farmers livestock. The news spread quickly and the neighbors came round: “How wonderful!” they said joyfully.
“The farmer nodded his head and said: “Perhaps.”

The following week, the farmer’s son fell off one of the wild horses and broke his leg. Because they were in a remote village, he had to wait a week to get it fixed. He was in great pain. Again, the nosy neighbors weighed in with an opinion: “What a pity…” they said in sympathy.
“The farmer simply said: “Perhaps.”
Three days later, news of a war spread as military recruiters rode into town to conscript young men into the army. They knocked on the farmer’s door and when he opened it, they pushed their way in asking for his son. The farmer pointed them in the direction of his moaning son and informed them of the boy’s broken leg. They left without further ado. The neighbors gathered to share tales of their conscripted sons and congratulated the farmer on his son’s good fortune.
The farmer, who was a stoic man, again replied: “Perhaps.”

Motivation Mondays is open to anyone who wishes to share a motivational quote, photo, personal challenge or a post that encourages others to start the week on an upbeat note.Basic Instructions: Each week, I will have a motivation word to help us create a response. (See listed words for end of November and all of December below)Email address: You may email or share your post as a comment and I will add it to the round-up of related posts. email it to: contact(@)mirthandmotivation(.)comCategory tag: – Share your post using Motivation MondaysTwitter hashtag: – Use this on Twitter #MotvnMDedicated Page: There is a dedicated page for Motivation Mondays. It has the same instructions and will include other helpful tools and a link to the round-upFacebook Page:MotivationOnMondays Join our page and add your post and/or any motivational piece you think will be helpful to others.Facebook Community: We have a Facebook community forum to compliment the page. It serves as another way to share uplifting posts and thoughts. Please join in and add your voice.

Badge: – I created a fun badge using PicMonkey’s free photo editing tools. You can create your own, use WordPress’ integrated tool on your blog or you are welcome to use mine. (see dedicated page)Tag: – Motivation MondaysHashtag: – #MotvnM

Positive Motivation Tip: Focus on what works best for you. My perspective might be great for me, but only until you test it, might it be great for you.

This is a great motivational review. It is very important for a teacher to be able to motivate their students. Parents also must motivate their children. This is not always an easy task and not every student or child is motivated by the same things.

I always love reading your Monday Motivations, Eliz. It is almost like having a mini meditation reading what you share. It makes me think and look within. Thank you for sharing this. I realize I have the power within me to see the world from a better brighter perspective and be grateful for this life I have.

I have thought a lot about perspective. I really believe your perspective is heavily influenced by who you are as a person. That’s why perspective can be similar but never 100% the same as somebody else.

What a great post, awesome for any day of the week but especially on Monday. All your quotes made me take a moment of reflection, but the one that really stood out was the first one by Marcus Aurelius. Dude. Powerful. And the tea cup story was such a great reminder for me. Thanks for posting!

Our perception in life differs but we are one in every aspect of love. Perspective in human beings comes before wisdom, faith and intelligence. We can have just use our passion in one whole direction. Fernando Lachica

I think another part of our perspective is our biases, realized or unrealized. They color our perspective at such a deep level. Each of these stories illustrates how we can all see the same thing, but interpret it differently, and becoming aware of others’ perspectives and their own biases can provide great insight into their motivations.
The Zen story is particularly poignant, though.

Perspective is all dependent on you – if you’re happy or unhappy about your life, it’s all because of how you see things and deal things. Our outlook in life has a huge impact on us, the moment we wake up. Suffering, happiness, and all other emotions are mostly dependent on how we see things.

We usually say, “Each one of has his/her own perspective” and often, our perspective speak a part of who we are as a person. We are being told that we should surround ourselves with people who has a positive perspective in life rather than those who don’t to avoid stress and all that but I beg to disagree. If we stay away from this people, who else will help them? We should even be encouraged to be around them to uplift them rather than opt them out in our lives. Do you agree?

I think that how we see the world is affected by how we are brought up, by our emotions and experiences. It’s the same like you see a half empty glass while other see a half full glass of water. In the end though, you have the choice to which you would rather want to see. I chose the former.

True. We all have different perspectives. We see certain things in different ways. In a discussion ( argument, even), we need to understand other people’s perspective to reach a compromise or a resolution. -katrina centeno

I agree that perspective dictates the way we see things and that we can choose in which perspective we look at things. Love the quote “People tend to seek happiness but happiness is actually a choice”. Try to remember this everyday.

The older I get, the more I try to look at things from a different perspective. Especially when it comes to my family and how some handle different situations. I always think I’d handle it differently, but then again….I’m not in their shoes. Maybe I’d handle things the same way that they do at times.

I agree with Russ. Also wake up with a positive attitude and you’ll notice as life goes on thing will get better. Why? Because the positiveness will reflect on your face, posture and your whole demeanor. You will then attract positiveness.

The story I liked most is the second one. Honestly, the way you see a person is the way you CHOOSE to see the person. It’s your perspective to see the more negative qualities so that’s what you see, and vice versa.

Perspective is on you, but can often be influenced by others if you let it. While some things are sad, its how to react to that which can make all the difference. If you choose to handle it and be happy, then happiness will follow.

There is a phrase that says: “Whatever happens around you, don’t take it personally… Nothing other people do is because of you. It is because of themselves.” I believe everybody owns and create their own perspective. Therefore, their actions or their thoughts are based on their thinking, their perspective, and it has nothing to do with you. If we think of a positive life, we must certainly will life a happy, positive life!

True perspective in life is all dependent on you – but if you are married to a pessimistic person who always sees the glass half full, you can finally run out of the cheery side of a proper perspective like I did 10 yrs ago. But my hubby seems to be waking up again and things seems to be turning around, so there is always hope.

Faith – yes faith definitely has a great impact on our outlook on life. If we maintain our faith we will make it. But when we slip, we can lose it altogether, or regenerate it and start where we left off rebuilding that faith. Thanks for listening to my 2 cents worth. 🙂

How very inspiring these stories are. I really like that story about the zen master and learning how to empty your cup. It is really all a matter of perspective. We tend to be confined to our own perspective when there is a whole world of perspectives waiting to be discovered. – Fred

Well, we see the world and make our decision based on our perspective in life and also the experiences that we have go through. What is best for me may not be for you so vice versa. That is why we are all unique.

There were days I woke up feeling negative and thinking negative. It’s because I remembered the bad thing that happened a day before. But I tried to focus on what’s more important, the truth and the reason why I breath. Then I feel better.

I love how positive and motivating your blog is! I actually heard the blind men and elephant story before and its a great story. Perspective is all in how you see this but we have to fight to see the positive in life!